Last night the highly respected Food Safety Authority said it would
launch an immediate investigation into Dunnes Stores following our
investigation. Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alan Reilly said it was
simply "unacceptable" that out-of-date products were on sale.

"It is just totally unacceptable to have products on display
for sale which are past their use-by date.

"It is poor product rotation practice and it offers very real
dangers for the consumer.

"We will be launching an immediate investigation into why such
products are being allowed to be sold in Dunnes Stores outlets.

"This is a very worthwhile investigation as people often
simply do not check these use-by dates on food products.

"People often take it for granted that food is OK for
consumption because it is on display in shops. If people feel they are
not getting a quality product then they should vote with their feet and
not use a store.

"That's what we at the Food Safety Authority
advocate," he said.

One angry shopper said he was shocked by the findings of our
investigation. The man, who is a stay-at-home-dad, said he did all his
shopping in the popular chain store.

"I have always found Dunnes Stores to be the best-value
supermarket around.

"And lately the quality of their produce has been even more
varied than before.

"But this investigation has shocked me.

"How can they be allowed to sell out-of-date food?

"I never bother to check the use-by dates on the packaging.

"After all, I presume that, if the food is on the shelves,
then it is safe to buy and then safe to eat.

"I thought it was up to the shop to comply with all safety
standards and make sure the customer is looked after.

"But this has really opened my eyes. I'll certainly be
checking all the labels from now on to check if they're out of
date," he fumed.

Our investigation was carried out over two days earlier this week.

We paid for the goods with cash and have a dated receipt for our
purchases.

The cashier in each case simply scanned the food. No safeguards
were in place to warn that the foods were past their use-by date.

In the Letterkenny branch of Dunnes Stores in Co Donegal, we found
a number of out-of-date products including Muller Little Stars jelly
pots (15 days past use-by date), Denny sausages (three days past use-by
date) as well as strawberries and carrots (two days past use-by date).

Other products including bacon were actually labelled and reduced
to sell for half price because their display period expired on the date
of our investigation.

However, the potentially dangerous out-of-date produce simply sat
on the shelves among fresh produce without warning that it had expired.

In the Dun Laoghaire branch in Co Dublin, we found a range of
out-of-date products still sitting on shelves despite being over a week
out of date.

These included various Danone Danacol nutritional drinks and Muller
fromage frais, which we found in the refrigerated section of the south
Dublin store.

Reacting to our investigation, Dermot Jewel of the Consumers
Association of Ireland said he was shocked that such simple safety
procedures were being flouted.

He said he was now calling on Dunnes Stores to review the
chain's food management process.

"This most certainly should not be happening in this day and
age.

"Food quality and regulation has come on so much in Ireland
but this is simply ridiculous.

"The bottom line is that these products simply should not be
on the shelves once they have gone past their use-by date.

"The onus is not on the consumer but on stores such as Dunnes
to get it right," he said.

He added that Dunnes Stores must act now to ensure that ALL
products displayed on store shelves were fit for consumption according
to their labelling.

"This is a wake-up call for this company to ensure that this
does not happen again and they should welcome your investigation as
doing them a service.

"The possible consequence of a child or an elderly person
eating an out-of-date product could be huge for the store.

"And it's not like it is a complicated issue.

"The produce which is past its use-by date should simply be
removed and destroyed," he said.

In spite of repeated calls to Dunnes, the company found no-one to
comment on the out of date food scandal.

CAPTION(S):

Dunnes Stores in Dun Laoghaire, where potentially dangerous
out-of-date food was on sale' Dunnes Stores in Letterkenny, where
food well past its use-by date was left on shelves for unwary
shoppers' FSAI Deputy Chief Executive Alan Reilly

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